Selfridge Military Air Museum opens for 2013 season with new aircraft on display

See the history of military aviation come alive as the Selfridge Air Museum is now open to the public for 2013.

The museum, located inside the Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Harrison Township, was established in 1979 to recover the history of Selfridge, one of the oldest continuously running military airfields in the United States. It currently houses historic aircraft from all military branches, both active and reserve units.

New this year are the F-89C Scorpion, a C-130E “Hercules” and an A-10A “Thunderbolt II” in the outdoor air park. A three-quarter scale historically accurate model of the original “Wright Flyer” will soon be on display in the SPAD WWI hangar.

The museum is designed to take visitors through a chronological history of military aviation, starting with World War I, World II, and Vietnam and other noted conflicts through the modern day. One of the most popular sections of the museum, especially for kids, houses three airplane cockpits, including a World War II link instrument trainer, a Vietnam A-7 jet fighter and a modern era F-16. Visitors can actually get in the cockpit, put on a helmet and imagine themselves in a battle for sky supremacy. Two of the 32 aircraft in the air park can actually be accessed as well, including the C-130 Hercules transport and the P-3 Orion sub hunter.

The F-89C Scorpion, believed to be the only one of its kind still in existence, will require a new paint job and should be fully restored and ready to go by early summer.

“The F-89 was designed as an interceptor flown by the Air Force and then the Michigan Air National Guard, and it had nuclear capability,” said museum Executive Director Lt. Col. (Ret.) Lewis Nigro.

The museum is staffed completely by volunteers, receives no federal or state funding, and stands as one of the few remaining historical venues of its kind.

“I think this museum is critically important, especially for the people that live in this area,” Nigro said. “This base has been around since 1917. We’re almost 100 years old. And now that the Air Force and the Air National Guard have eliminated the historian position, we’re all that’s left to track the history of this base and the Michigan Air Guard.”

The museum is accessible by vehicle only through the main Selfridge gate at the intersection of M-59 and Jefferson Avenue. For security reasons, guests arriving in a private vehicle that is being driven by someone without a valid government identification card must register for a visitor’s pass at the gate. A current and valid driver’s license, vehicle registration, and proof of vehicular insurance will be required to obtain a visitor’s pass.

Admission is $4 per guest over the age of 12 and $3 for children between 4 and 12 years of age. There is a minimum admission of $25 for all by-appointment tours. General public hours of operation for the museum is noon to 4:30 pm on Saturdays, Sundays, Independence Day and Memorial Day, from now through Oct. 27. The museum can also be opened by appointment at other times throughout the year by calling 586-239-5035.

Further information on the Selfridge Military Air Museum and Air Park can be found on its website (www.selfridgeairmuseum.org), by mail (Selfridge Military Air Museum, 27333 C St, Bldg 1011, Selfridge ANGB MI 48045), or by phone (586-239-5035).